bigbadbrother
11-10-2014, 01:06 AM
Tom Jensen
Avondale, Ariz. —
Kevin Harvick utterly dominated Sunday's crash-marred Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, locking himself into next weekend's Championship Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Also clinching spots in next week's finale were Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman. On the last lap of the race, Newman shoved Kyle Larson into the wall to finish 11th and eliminate Jeff Gordon from title contention by a single point.
"That was about as clean as I could race," said Newman. "I wasn't proud of it."
It was a tough blow for Gordon, who had five top-two finishes in the nine Chase races but won't race for the title. "I really thought second would get it done, but obviously, it didn't."
Harvick scored his fourth race victory of the season and 27th of his career, as he won at his favorite track for the fourth time in the last five races. Harvick led all but 48 of the 312 laps to win over Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski.
"I guess that it's what it feels like to hit a walkoff in extra innings," said Harvick.
The pressure was high for Harvick, who would not have advanced without a victory. "I could tell that we were probably have to win, because everybody was running up at the front of the pack that we were racing against," said Harvick. "And that's really the goal every time we come to Phoenix for me personally, and this team."
There was much at stake in this duel in the desert.
Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin took the lead at the start, with Harvick in second before Logano moved to the runner-up spot on Lap 19.
After a spirited dice for the lead with Hamlin for several laps, Logano took the point on Lap 28.
VIDEO: Kyle Busch wreck brings out the red flag
An errant spring rubber brought out a caution on Lap 30 and sent the field down pit road for the first time. Hamlin had to make a second pit stop after getting a flat right-rear tire because of a broken valve stem and he fell all the way to 39th.
After the restart, Harvick passed Logano on Lap 44, taking his first lead of the day.
At Lap 100, the order was Harvick, Logano, Kurt Busch, Keselowski and Matt Kenseth.
After a caution on Lap 124 for debris on the frontstretch, Logano dragged his fuel can out of his pit box and was penalized, dropping from second to 29th.
Harvick continued to lead after the restart and at Lap 156, the midpoint of the race, he had a 5.538-second lead over Kurt and Kyle Busch and Keselowski.
Deeper in the pack, Hamlin and Logano both struggled, with Logano getting lapped on Lap 182, two circuits before a caution for a tire failure on Austin Dillon's car.
Logano got back on the lead lap thanks to a debris caution on Lap 202.
The next caution flew at Lap 207, putting Hamlin back on the lead lap.
Then, Kyle Busch went around on the Lap 212 restart in Turn 2, sending the track yellow again. At the same time, Logano and Danica Patrick made contact, causing a tire rub on Logano's car. But it was quickly repaired under yellow.
The next yellow waved on Lap 238 when something broke on Jimmie Johnson's car and he hit the Turn 1. Under caution, the Penske cars took four tires and everyone else took two or fuel only.
Next to go around was Jamie McMurray, who appeared to have gotten turned by Greg Biffle on Lap 245.
On this restart, Newman quickly fell back to 17th, complaining of a loose condition.
On Lap 289, the caution waved for debris on the frontstretch, specifically another spring rubber.
Under caution Harvick, Gordon, Keselowski, Kenseth, Newman and Biffle stayed out, with the other lead-lap cars pitted.
After another caution, the race restarted and Harvick drove off to victory.
Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500
Nov 9, 2014 | Phoenix International Raceway - Avondale, Arizona | 312.0 mi
Pos Driver Car # Make Started Laps Led Points Driver Rating
1 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 3 312 264 48 150.0
2 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 7 312 0 42 112.0
3 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 5 312 0 41 117.4
4 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 2 312 0 40 117.5
5 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 1 312 24 40 86.9
6 Joey Logano 22 Ford 4 312 17 39 104.8
7 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 10 312 0 37 114.4
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 16 312 4 37 96.3
9 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 28 312 0 35 73.4
10 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 21 312 0 34 79.5
11 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 20 312 0 33 91.4
12 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 14 312 0 32 96.9
13 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 8 312 0 31 100.4
14 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 19 312 0 30 85.9
15 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 13 312 0 29 86.8
16 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 24 312 0 28 81.1
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 18 312 0 27 66.6
18 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 23 312 0 26 70.3
19 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 9 312 0 25 67.7
20 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 29 312 0 24 63.8
21 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 22 312 0 23 73.5
22 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 32 312 0 22 60.5
23 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 11 312 0 21 79.8
24 David Gilliland 38 Ford 34 312 0 20 56.0
25 David Ragan 34 Ford 35 312 2 20 49.3
26 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 30 311 1 19 53.1
27 Ty Dillon 33 Chevrolet 26 310 0 0 48.4
28 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 33 310 0 16 42.7
29 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 38 310 0 0 42.1
30 J.J. Yeley 83 Toyota 41 309 0 0 36.2
31 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 31 309 0 13 47.0
32 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 37 308 0 12 33.6
33 Joey Gase 32 Ford 42 308 0 0 29.9
34 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 6 308 0 10 76.2
35 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 12 305 0 9 62.0
36 Mike Wallace 66 Toyota 43 303 0 0 28.9
37 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 27 302 0 7 38.8
38 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 25 283 0 6 50.0
39 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 15 235 0 5 66.9
40 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 17 211 0 4 61.6
41 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 36 204 0 3 39.5
42 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 40 147 0 2 32.5
43 Mike Bliss 37 Chevrolet 39 16 0 0 27.3
2014 Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 Stats
Scheduled Laps: 312
Total Laps: 312
Distance: 312.0 miles
Lead Changes: 7
Avondale, Ariz. —
Kevin Harvick utterly dominated Sunday's crash-marred Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, locking himself into next weekend's Championship Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Also clinching spots in next week's finale were Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman. On the last lap of the race, Newman shoved Kyle Larson into the wall to finish 11th and eliminate Jeff Gordon from title contention by a single point.
"That was about as clean as I could race," said Newman. "I wasn't proud of it."
It was a tough blow for Gordon, who had five top-two finishes in the nine Chase races but won't race for the title. "I really thought second would get it done, but obviously, it didn't."
Harvick scored his fourth race victory of the season and 27th of his career, as he won at his favorite track for the fourth time in the last five races. Harvick led all but 48 of the 312 laps to win over Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski.
"I guess that it's what it feels like to hit a walkoff in extra innings," said Harvick.
The pressure was high for Harvick, who would not have advanced without a victory. "I could tell that we were probably have to win, because everybody was running up at the front of the pack that we were racing against," said Harvick. "And that's really the goal every time we come to Phoenix for me personally, and this team."
There was much at stake in this duel in the desert.
Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin took the lead at the start, with Harvick in second before Logano moved to the runner-up spot on Lap 19.
After a spirited dice for the lead with Hamlin for several laps, Logano took the point on Lap 28.
VIDEO: Kyle Busch wreck brings out the red flag
An errant spring rubber brought out a caution on Lap 30 and sent the field down pit road for the first time. Hamlin had to make a second pit stop after getting a flat right-rear tire because of a broken valve stem and he fell all the way to 39th.
After the restart, Harvick passed Logano on Lap 44, taking his first lead of the day.
At Lap 100, the order was Harvick, Logano, Kurt Busch, Keselowski and Matt Kenseth.
After a caution on Lap 124 for debris on the frontstretch, Logano dragged his fuel can out of his pit box and was penalized, dropping from second to 29th.
Harvick continued to lead after the restart and at Lap 156, the midpoint of the race, he had a 5.538-second lead over Kurt and Kyle Busch and Keselowski.
Deeper in the pack, Hamlin and Logano both struggled, with Logano getting lapped on Lap 182, two circuits before a caution for a tire failure on Austin Dillon's car.
Logano got back on the lead lap thanks to a debris caution on Lap 202.
The next caution flew at Lap 207, putting Hamlin back on the lead lap.
Then, Kyle Busch went around on the Lap 212 restart in Turn 2, sending the track yellow again. At the same time, Logano and Danica Patrick made contact, causing a tire rub on Logano's car. But it was quickly repaired under yellow.
The next yellow waved on Lap 238 when something broke on Jimmie Johnson's car and he hit the Turn 1. Under caution, the Penske cars took four tires and everyone else took two or fuel only.
Next to go around was Jamie McMurray, who appeared to have gotten turned by Greg Biffle on Lap 245.
On this restart, Newman quickly fell back to 17th, complaining of a loose condition.
On Lap 289, the caution waved for debris on the frontstretch, specifically another spring rubber.
Under caution Harvick, Gordon, Keselowski, Kenseth, Newman and Biffle stayed out, with the other lead-lap cars pitted.
After another caution, the race restarted and Harvick drove off to victory.
Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500
Nov 9, 2014 | Phoenix International Raceway - Avondale, Arizona | 312.0 mi
Pos Driver Car # Make Started Laps Led Points Driver Rating
1 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 3 312 264 48 150.0
2 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 7 312 0 42 112.0
3 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 5 312 0 41 117.4
4 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 2 312 0 40 117.5
5 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 1 312 24 40 86.9
6 Joey Logano 22 Ford 4 312 17 39 104.8
7 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 10 312 0 37 114.4
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 16 312 4 37 96.3
9 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 28 312 0 35 73.4
10 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 21 312 0 34 79.5
11 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 20 312 0 33 91.4
12 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 14 312 0 32 96.9
13 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 8 312 0 31 100.4
14 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 19 312 0 30 85.9
15 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 13 312 0 29 86.8
16 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 24 312 0 28 81.1
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 18 312 0 27 66.6
18 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 23 312 0 26 70.3
19 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 9 312 0 25 67.7
20 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 29 312 0 24 63.8
21 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 22 312 0 23 73.5
22 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 32 312 0 22 60.5
23 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 11 312 0 21 79.8
24 David Gilliland 38 Ford 34 312 0 20 56.0
25 David Ragan 34 Ford 35 312 2 20 49.3
26 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 30 311 1 19 53.1
27 Ty Dillon 33 Chevrolet 26 310 0 0 48.4
28 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 33 310 0 16 42.7
29 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 38 310 0 0 42.1
30 J.J. Yeley 83 Toyota 41 309 0 0 36.2
31 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 31 309 0 13 47.0
32 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 37 308 0 12 33.6
33 Joey Gase 32 Ford 42 308 0 0 29.9
34 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 6 308 0 10 76.2
35 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 12 305 0 9 62.0
36 Mike Wallace 66 Toyota 43 303 0 0 28.9
37 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 27 302 0 7 38.8
38 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 25 283 0 6 50.0
39 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 15 235 0 5 66.9
40 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 17 211 0 4 61.6
41 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 36 204 0 3 39.5
42 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 40 147 0 2 32.5
43 Mike Bliss 37 Chevrolet 39 16 0 0 27.3
2014 Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 Stats
Scheduled Laps: 312
Total Laps: 312
Distance: 312.0 miles
Lead Changes: 7